Combination board for beehives



Nov. 13, 1951 c. w. EVANS 2,575,102

COMBINATION BOARD FOR BEEHIVES Filed July 25, 194e 2 sHEETs-sm'r 1 23 www Patented Nov. 13, A1951 einem@ iiansiiitrffaie,

, This invention relates toa combination board for a bee hive, serving to separate theV brood chamber from the honey chamber, and also em.- bodying various bee passages and Ventilating ducts. r

One object is to exclude the queen bee from the honey chamber in a natural manner without likelihood of injury or undue excitement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a free passageway between the broodn chamber and honey chamber for theworker bees which maybe adjustedwhen desired to prevent passage of bees into the honey chamber while permitting them to 4 pass freely from the honey chamber. to the brood chamber.

A further object of the invention is toprovide vin the combination board a plurality of ventilat ing ductsfor the brood chamberwhile protecting the Asame from excessive light and stormy weather; one orwmore of which ductsimay be utilizedto provide an entrance into the brood chamber from outside the hive.

' Still another object of the invention is"to pro vide a relatively large unbroken and protected clustering area at the top of the brood. chamber on the lower face ofthe combination board.

In the accompanying drawing: A y A Figure 1 is Va fragmentary exploded view show ing in vertical section, as indicat'edby broken lines I-I of Figure 2 a combination bee hive board in accordance with this invention disposedv between a conventional brood chamber and honey chamber.

Figure 2 is a top plan of shown in section in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is adetail top plan of` a onei-way bee escape incorporated in the board.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the beef escape shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an end elevation thereof.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numerals I and 2 indicate respectively the brood chamber and honey chamber of a conventional bee hive having a combination bee hive board indicated generally at 3 placed therebetween, the board being formed in accordance with this invention.

Opening through the edge face of the board 3 are a plurality of horizontal passageways 4 communicating at their inner extremities with vertical passageways 5 and in connection therewith providing Ventilating ducts from the brood chamber I to the atmosphere. The passageways 4 are provided with downwardly and outwardly sloping bottom walls B to carry off any rain or the bee hive. board |`tical-'passag'eway 9. Thef passageways and 9 `are similarinieveryrespect totheipassagewaysfd and .5V but are.` entirely open so: as to. provide. .not onlya ventilatin'g1ductbutLalso anentranc'e from outsidefthexhive into vthe brood; chamber. I; I1'. additional entrances should be. desired... one: or more? of the; screensY .1.may be tremoved .from the Ventilating;ducts;` Passageways 4,/5fand 8; @are sufliciently, widel t6, permit -free passage' of the queen bee as well as the worker bees:V

Extending throughout a portion of t-hev board 3; intermediate. the upper and lower facesv thereof, is. a' horizontal beepassage'way I0 whichzis in. communication with one; or more.. vertical passageways II` connecting the same with. the brood chamber I. The .passageway III also'communicates with one or more vertical passageways. I2 connecting, the. sameV with thel honey chamber 2. Preferably the board. 3 will beprovided inthe-.upper face thereof'with ai recessv I3 extendingvbeneaththecomb framesin the honey chamber 2 and-providing a relatively large passagewaybetween the vertical passageway I2 and the conventional passageways I4 provided at the sides of the honey chamber. Similar vertical passageways I5 and horizontal passageway I6 in the brood chamber I are in communication with the vertical passageway II whereby normally Worker bees may travel freely between the chambers I and 2 through the passageways III, II and I2. The passageway II is of appropriate size to permit worker bees to pass freely therethrough but to prevent the queen from passing through so that she may be naturally and effectively excluded from the honey chamber 2 without the exciting activities of the latter being exposed to her view. Also. as shown in the drawing, the passage II is displaced from the passage I2 and this provides better isolation of the queen bee from the activities in the honey chamber.

In order that an attendant may have access to the honey chamber free of bees when desired, the board 3 is provided with a closure I1 for the passageway I2, and with a bee escape disposed between the passageways I3 and I0 and indicated generally at I8. With the closure I1 in position to block the passageway I2, the only path of travel between the chambers I and 2 is through the escape I8 which is designed to permit the free passage of bees from the chamber .2 to the chamber" I but tol prevent passage from the chamber I to the chamber 2.

The escape I8 consists essentially of a relatively at box-like element I9 open at its ends and formed with a centrally disposed opening 20 through its top. The top projects beyond the` l position. Extending lengthwise of the element-l I9 are a pair of opposed, arcuate, resilient strips 22, the center portions of which span the opening 2D, and the end portions of which lie in closely spaced relation adjacent the open ends of the element I9. Owing to the resiliency of the strips 22, and to the spacing of the end portions thereof, bees entering the element I9 through the opening may readily force their Way between the opposed end portions to the passageway I0, but are unable to pass between the strips in the opposite direction.

Between the vertical passageways 9 and II, the lower face of the board 3 is unbroken to provide a relatively large flat clustering area at the top of the brood chamber which is fully protected and completely separated from the activities of the honey chamber. In order that this clustering area may be as large as possible, the vertical passage I I should be located as far from the center of the board as possible. A dead air insulating space 23 is provided in the board 3 above the clustering area.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the many advantages of a combination board in accordance with this invention will be readily apparent.

I claim:

1. A combination board adapted to be positioned horizontally between the brood chamber and-the honey chamber of a bee hive comprising a flat board having a horizontally extending passage formed between the upper and lower faces thereof, said passage communicating with said brood chamber through an opening formed in the lower -face of said board near the outer edge thereof, and communicating with the honey chamber through an opening formed in the upper face of said board near the center of said board, whereby the central portion of the lower face of said board is unbroken and forms a cluster area, a one-way bee escape carried by said board and having an inlet port opening into said honey chamber and an outlet port connected with the horizontal portion of said bee passage, and manually operable means for closing the opening of said passage in the upper face of said board, whereby the bees passing through said bee escape may enter the brood chamber through said opening in thelower face of said board.

2; A` combination board according to claim 1 wherein said board is provided with a plurality of Ventilating ducts opening through the edge faces and the` lower face of the board, that section of each duct opening through said edge face being disposed substantially at right angles to that section of each duct opening through said lower face, one of said ducts providing an en- -trance Vinto the broodl chamber, and a screen blocking the ducts which are not utilized as entrances into the brood chamber, the bottom wall of each of said ducts sloping downwardly and outwardly to prevent any rain that enters the same from owing into the brood chamber.

3. A combination board according to claim 1 wherein the central area of the upper face thereof is recessed to provide a bee passageway beneath the honey frames.

4. A combination board according to claim 1 wherein Ventilating passages are formed therein and opening through the edge faces and the lower face of said board, each of said Ventilating openings having a folded wire screen inserted' therein to block the passage of bees but permit ventilation of the brood chamber, said wire screen having one dimension equal to the length of said Ventilating opening and being folded parallel with said dimension into a U-shape, the portions of said screen forming the legs of the U being urged against the sides of said Ventilating passageway by the natural resiliency of said wire screen and holding said screen in said Ventilating opening.

CLARENCE W. EVANS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 205,429 Shoemaker June 25, 1878 736,226 Danzenbaker Aug. ll, 1903 987,425 Blagg Mar. 21, 1911 1,113,886 Douglass Oct. 13, 1914 1,544,468 McPhee June 30, 1925 1,554,305 Sullivan Sept. 22, 1925 2,128,000 King Aug. 23, 1938 

